Thanks for the input. Actually Emevas, I have that little thread in my Firefox favs, has been there for at least 6 months- where I got the idea of the whole bench, squat, deadlift thing from. When I went to a local physical trainer and bodybuilder (I won't bother stating the awards he's won, because it isn't important and I don't like name-dropping) he suggested I do bench, squat and stiff legged deadlift, because of my lower back problems that could do with sorting, with hammer curls (they're the ones which activate the forearms too, yeah?) and a couple of ab exercises like crunches and supermans. I meant to do some form of deadlift or row to go with what I'd done today, but I had an attack of the vagina and seemed to gas.

Obviously, I'm not qualified to figure this **** out on my own, which is why I've asked, basically, but out of curiousity- should I throw in some form of deadlift or row into my 'order' rather than the curls? I realise the curls are just fluff exercises, but now that I can tell how far into a routine I'm going to get (about 3 exercises or so) I really need to prioritise until I get strong enough and fit enough to do more. Should I have back work in every time I go the gym? (I'm guessing about 3/4 times, since I need one rest day I think). Is doing rows, stiff legged deadlifts and chins overworking my back? As you've said, I've done a lot of pushing movements and not really enough pulling, and that's the sort of thing I'd like to work out.

My goals are pretty much just to get bigger and stronger. I'm doing the whey protein thing as well, by putting two scoops into my milk shaker and chowing down on some foodstuffs that the guy recommended.

Why not just follow the routine as it is layed out? It will prevent a lot of confusion. What exactly is your back issue? SLDLs would tend to put more stress on the back rather than less.

Try standard deadlifts with good form and low weight before replacing with something else.

Chances are, your back issues are related to poor posture and a weak core. Unless you have a lot of belly fat, in which case the problem is the fat, poor posture and weak core.

Deadlifts - performed with ample warm up and proper form will do more to correct the above issues than pretty much any other excercise you can do but maybe squats. You'll have to focus on posture, you'll work your core and if fat, lose weight.

Work on your form with an empty bar. Teh El Macho posted a video about the deadlift that is great in a recent thread. Check the threads on the front page for it, and use that. Also, the workout posted is from Starting Strength. Having recently read it, no one should be allowed in weight room without having read it.

As a caveat, if you practice with an empty bar, set it in the power rack at the right level so that you at least get used to pulling from the right height. It's the one issue with deadlifts: unless you have olympic training plates, the lighter the weight, the further you have to pull.

As a caveat, if you practice with an empty bar, set it in the power rack at the right level so that you at least get used to pulling from the right height. It's the one issue with deadlifts: unless you have olympic training plates, the lighter the weight, the further you have to pull.

So it's not cheating if I do that? Because 135lbs is honestly too much for me, especially now that I've gained a lot of weight (might be the meds...).

And it's not even that the lower weight is super heavy for me, it's that I have to go so damn low to pick up the bar.

So it's not cheating if I do that? Because 135lbs is honestly too much for me, especially now that I've gained a lot of weight (might be the meds...).

And it's not even that the lower weight is super heavy for me, it's that I have to go so damn low to pick up the bar.

Cheating what? Are you in a competition? If not, in a decent gym, you'd have olympic training plates that are the same size as 45s. If you don't have access to them, you gotta do what you can. Practicing form on longer deadlift won't do anything for you when you increase the weight, because you'll have a whole new form to practice.